Tom Joslin

Even if art isn't really your thing, it's hard not to pay attention when it's splattered across a BMW 3.0 CSL or an E30 M3. We doubt this is the line of thinking that has led BMW to commission famous artists to paint some of their most well known models over the past 40 years, but it works for us.

To celebrate the anniversary of their first art car, BMW has produced this excellent movie detailing the history of all 17 cars. You can watch the preview above and see the movie in it's entirety here. If you don't have the attention span to watch the full 40 minute video or want to view the videos car by car, check out the virtual art car museum BMW created.

Although there are a quite a few drool worthy BMWs in the art car collection, our favorite is the very first BMW art car, the 1975 3.0 CSL painted by Alex Calder for Herve Poulain. What is your BMW art car of choice?